More green spaces for Cathays parks

If you are a Cathays resident, make your voice heard at the council’s drop-in sessions for the green spaces project that aims to solve community issues.

The drop-in session at Cardiff University’s Student Union

Cardiff council holds drop-in sessions in Cathays this February to gather residents’ opinions about the regeneration and redesign project of three parks in the area.

The Green Space Project aims to improve the design of three parks in Cathays: Cogan Gardens, Ruthin Gardens and Llanbleddian Gardens. Two drop-in sessions have been arranged on 24 February at Cardiff University’s Students Union and 27 February in the Sherman Theatre.

“This plan aims at encouraging the community in Cathays area to come together so they can use the space together. We really want people living here to take ownership of the area,” says Emma Robson, the Council’s Student Liaison Officer, during the drop-in session in Cardiff University.

Based on earlier consultation feedbacks from the public, the three main issues residents in Cathays wish to improve in these gardens are the number of seats, the lack of bins and the lack of greenery.

Besides the aesthetic issues, anti-social behaviour is also one of the key factors that triggered the need for improvement of the area.

“There are some rough sleepers in the area. And our research found that people drink in the area as well, not particularly students, just the general people. And these kind of issues prevents people from using the park, because they don’t feel safe,” Ms Robson explains.

Here are the proposed designs for the parks:

According to the Council, redesigning green spaces is the first step of the ‘Cathays Regeneration Project’. In the second stage, it aims at improving the streets, which largely relates to the houses in the area.

“After the final consultation event, we will analyse the results in April and May. The final design would probably come out in the summer. Afterwards, we will be planning for a funding to take the project forward. So it’s really important for us to hear the voice of the public,” says Ms Robson.

The upcoming session will be on Saturday, 27 February, 10am-1pm at Sherman Theatre. Residents are encouraged to join the discussion there.